TwoSheds Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 (edited) I agree with TT & Shark the belt is recommended for change at 4 years or 120k miles whichever is earlier. VW UK has been recommending 4 years for some time now despite what is printed in the cars service schedule record book (worth checking the print date on your service book as well ). As for the reply from your call to 'VW Customer Services' I'm not at all surprised as to the 'advice' you got.... Try getting a quote for part-ex price on a 4 year old car from a dealer, if they are tuned in , they ask have you had the cambelt changed ? Edited November 14, 2009 by TwoSheds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemod Posted November 14, 2009 Report Share Posted November 14, 2009 Try getting a quote for part-ex price on a 4 year old car from a dealer, if they are tuned in , they ask have you had the cambelt changed ? It is the dealer that is telling me this, the dealer has been very honest with me in any previous technical issues. According to the dealer they have yet to change the cambelt on any MKV GTIs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSheds Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 Maybe they have not had many four year old MkV GTIs in for service ?? As you said previously, its a personal choice at the end of the day to replace the belt or not, but I wouldn't expect any goodwill response from VW UK if you don't & things go drastically wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac_Terrorist Posted November 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 I wonder what Skoda, Seat and Audi say for this same engine? As much as I dislike servicing costs they are necessary and i'd rather pay £500 for a replacement belt than £3k for a new engine. I think all other manufacturers recommend 4-5 years and I strongly suspect that these belts are probably all manufactured by 2-3 companies. It's bad that there is so much confusion regarding this. All 3 dealers I spoke to advised me it needed doing without questionning it when I said I wanted prices on the 4 year time & distance service. Perhaps they're in need of business though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludwig Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 MM, thanks for this. No belt change for me too. If they ask "have I had the belt changed" when I ask for a p-ex quote, I'll point them to what it says in the book (as opposed to the tin)! Ludwig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Man Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 I wonder what Skoda, Seat and Audi say for this same engine?As much as I dislike servicing costs they are necessary and i'd rather pay £500 for a replacement belt than £3k for a new engine. I think all other manufacturers recommend 4-5 years and I strongly suspect that these belts are probably all manufactured by 2-3 companies. It's bad that there is so much confusion regarding this. All 3 dealers I spoke to advised me it needed doing without questionning it when I said I wanted prices on the 4 year time & distance service. Perhaps they're in need of business though! I`v just had a variable service done on my 4yr/2months old Audi A3 2.0 Tfsi(50,000 miles) at a franchised Audi dealer....No mention of cam-belt change by the dealer.....The manual is in the car...but I did check when the cam-belt change was due as I`am pretty fastidious about servicing.....and I know there was a mileage figure....but I`ll put money on it that there was no mention of it being changed after 4yrs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHA Posted November 19, 2009 Report Share Posted November 19, 2009 My mate who has a 55 plate GTI was told his cambelt needs changing at 4 years old by our local dealer we both use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chriswastle Posted November 19, 2009 Report Share Posted November 19, 2009 I dont mean to be funny, but the VW manual states cambelt change is at 120,000 miles for a 2.0i FSI. If you want to pay to have it done before this, then fine; but if you dont, and still continue to have the car at serviced at VW, and the cambelt fails before 120k miles, then i would say you had a good case for a full engine rebuild FOC. Simplies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac_Terrorist Posted November 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2009 I think you'd be left to argue that one with the dealer. This 4 year cam belt thing has come from VW UK. Say the cam belt snaps on a 5 year old car done 60k miles. There is only one person who will end up paying......you On a dedicated MKV gti forum I don't think there is anyone who hasn't had it replaced at 4yo / 60k miles. I guess it's like insurance really; if you don't get the belt changed it may well snap, if you do then you'll be ok. Just don't fancy the cost of a rebuild! Unfortunately, dealers are often ill informed. They are now supposed to use longlife oil even on time & distance servicing but many dealers still don't do this and add the lesser quality stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Man Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 (edited) I`v just had a variable service done on my 4yr/2months old Audi A3 2.0 Tfsi(50,000 miles) at a franchised Audi dealer....No mention of cam-belt change by the dealer.....The manual is in the car...but I did check when the cam-belt change was due as I`am pretty fastidious about servicing.....and I know there was a mileage figure....but I`ll put money on it that there was no mention of it being changed after 4yrs I think you'd be left to argue that one with the dealer. This 4 year cam belt thing has come from VW UK.Say the cam belt snaps on a 5 year old car done 60k miles. There is only one person who will end up paying......you On a dedicated MKV gti forum I don't think there is anyone who hasn't had it replaced at 4yo / 60k miles. I guess it's like insurance really; if you don't get the belt changed it may well snap, if you do then you'll be ok. Just don't fancy the cost of a rebuild! Unfortunately, dealers are often ill informed. They are now supposed to use longlife oil even on time & distance servicing but many dealers still don't do this and add the lesser quality stuff. Well I phoned up my local Audi dealer today.....Their sticking to what it says in the hand book...A3 2.0Tfsi....80,000 miles.....I asked them to check ,as GTI owners were being advised to have the belt replaced after 4yrs....They returned my call and said they had`t received any information from Audi about replacing cam-belts after a specific time.I`ll take their word on this one as they know I`d have booked it in tomorrow and forked out a few hundred quid, if they thought a replacement was advisable, even if the book says 80k. Having said that I can see the logic of replacing the cam-belt after a set time period regardless of mileage as the material from which the belt is made must degrade over time...be that 4,6 or 10yrs:confused:....As I said in my previous post I`am fastidious about servicing and I`v owned a few cars from new, for 5,6, or 7 yrs and I`v never been advised or told to have the belt changed due to the age of the car regardless of mileage.....As you say if it popped tomorrow I`ll be the one paying for a rebuild...although I`d argue that Audi should make some contribution.....One final point; the cam-belt is one of those items that I`d assume the manufactures would test to destruction under all operating conditions because they would`t want to pay for too many top end rebuilds on cars still under warranty...I would have assumed there`s quite a bit of built in redundancy....If it says 80k...then it should last for at least another 40k...basically you`d assume they would over engineer the belt.....So the VAG group have 3 different schedules for the 2.0Tfsi cam-belt...is it 4yrs,regardless of milage; VW Gti 120,000 miles;Audi 80,000....bloomin heck....I wish they`d get their act together. Edited November 20, 2009 by Mr Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac_Terrorist Posted November 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 LOL - Fair enough Mr Man. I'll have to check to see what Skoda recommend for the Octavia VRS engine as this is also the same unit. The thing that niggles me is that my car is 3.5 years old and has done only 7,000 miles from new. I would prefer for go an extra year if I can but obviously happy to pay and have it done if it's required at 4 years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 There isn't as much built in redundancy as you'd think in cam belts. For our cab fleet, we generally try and avoid belt driven engines, as an overlooked belt swap can easily result in a knacked engine less than 10k after the recommended change period, which means an expensive bill for the driver, simply for thinking they could get away with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac_Terrorist Posted November 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 Just checked on Briskoda forum. It seems that Skoda used to recommend belt change every 150,000km (approx 112,000 miles) with no time period. Skoda have apparently changed their position on this and recommend belt changes every 4 years / 40k miles whichever sooner just like VW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemod Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 (edited) Just checked on Briskoda forum. It seems that Skoda used to recommend belt change every 150,000km (approx 112,000 miles) with no time period. Skoda have apparently changed their position on this and recommend belt changes every 4 years / 40k miles whichever sooner just like VW. I'm still not sure where this 4 year for VWs is coming from, I have spoken to VW UK and they say there is no time change for the 2.0tfsi engine just the 120000 miles as stated in the handbook. Here is a printout from the most up to date version of ELSAWIN, the workshop manual as used in the dealers. No mention of the 4 year time limit just the 120000 miles and it if even emphasises this by saying "It is not necessary to renew before the current interval". This is as recommended by the manufacturer.. Service Schedule Service Tables Edited November 20, 2009 by mikemod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac_Terrorist Posted November 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 It's all a mystery Mikemod! Some claim to have received a letter form their dealers advising of the change and prices etc. I'll have to drop VW an email at some point to get this cleared up. I'd like to see something in writing given the confusion, just for complete peace of mind. I'm not sure i'd run to 120k miles but would be happier with 5 years / 70k miles. I recall the 1.8t seemed to have water pump impellar issues which could potentially have the same devastating effects as a snapped cam belt and these could fail at lower mileages. It is advised to have the water pump replaced with the cam belt. If I had done a higher mileage, my concern would equally be the reliability of the water pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemod Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 I agree TT, it would be nice to see a written letter from VW UK to see why dealers are recommending one thing and they are recommending another. I had a MKIV and when the belt was replaced the water pump came out in pieces, if this is the same configuration in the MKV then I too would be concerned if I kept the car much longer, which at the moment is looking likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSheds Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 Even stranger... VW Dealers are displaying orange colour VWUK printed leaflets headed up ' What travels at 8,000rpm and can ruin your engine.. crucial cam belt information' This goes on to say ' Your Volkswagen's cam belt must be renewed no later than the maximum recommended change interval ( mileage range depending on model ) OR after the recommended four years, whichever is the sooner.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Man Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 (edited) Even stranger...VW Dealers are displaying orange colour VWUK printed leaflets headed up ' What travels at 8,000rpm and can ruin your engine.. crucial cam belt information' This goes on to say ' Your Volkswagen's cam belt must be renewed no later than the maximum recommended change interval ( mileage range depending on model ) OR after the recommended four years, whichever is the sooner.... I know the replacement of the cam-belt is not a safety issue per-say....but if VW have decided(:confused::confused:) to change the service schedule for replacing the belt you`d think they`d have the decency to write to all registered owners as they know full well that if this item fails punters will be left with a very expensive bill....What grates; is that you could religiously have you car serviced but if the belt failed you`d still be liable for the repair costs as VW have changed the schedule but not informed their customers(apparently some dealers as well)......Especially when you consider the scenario of some owners on the long life service schedule, who cover low mileages, will only appear at the dealers door every 18 months or so......In fact theoretically they may only have to service their car every 2yrs......For VW to change(or have they) the schedule to 4yrs regardless of mileage one could make the assumption that there have been a number of failures which VW have had to pay for as customers have had their car serviced on schedule within the VW network.....Has anyone seen any reports on other sites of cam-belts failing prematurely....One final thought....is this 4yr limit being used by some dealers to drum up business.. Edited November 21, 2009 by Mr Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSheds Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 ...One final thought....is this 4yr limit being used by some dealers to drum up business.. Undoubtedly with VWUK leaflets... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac_Terrorist Posted November 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 I'm still not sure where this 4 year for VWs is coming from, I have spoken to VW UK and they say there is no time change for the 2.0tfsi engine just the 120000 miles as stated in the handbook.Here is a printout from the most up to date version of ELSAWIN, the workshop manual as used in the dealers. No mention of the 4 year time limit just the 120000 miles and it if even emphasises this by saying "It is not necessary to renew before the current interval". This is as recommended by the manufacturer.. Service Schedule Service Tables In the absence of confirmation from VW, I'm wondering whether the early belt / roller change is an advisory thing rather than forming part of the service schedule. The same applies to the air con gas - nowhere is this mentioned that it needs topping up every 2 years in the service schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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